Linda Garza

I'm the Lead Director of College Counseling for Yes Prep Public Schools, which is an inner-city charter school system that serves as a prep school for underserved, low socioeconomic communities in Houston, Texas. College Access is about breaking educational barriers to break the poverty cycle and improve economic mobility, basically changing the trajectory of families generationally. We primarily serve first-generation students whose parents may have recently immigrated to the U.S. or were born in the United States but no one has attended college, and they've been working entrepreneur jobs and living in poverty. What we do is empower the community through systems replicated across campuses across the city of Houston. We build a college-going culture and mindset from the time students enter 6th grade, and now Yes Prep has expanded to elementary schools, so the college-going mindset actually starts from pre-K age. We focus on student opportunity, giving back to the community through community service, internships (academic, service, and learning internships), and we guide them through the entire process. We show them how to write a resume and have college prep classes called seminar classes that are required for each student in grades 9 through 12. Through family engagement, which we call Family University, we educate and empower the community. As a bilingual team, my entire team is bilingual and we are all first generation, so we have built trust in the community, which we've worked hard for, and we're honored that the community trusts us to take their kids through the entire process. We go on college visits to campuses, admissions representatives come to our campus to go through the application process and share about their schools so students can picture themselves on college campuses. We have a partnership with private liberal arts colleges throughout the United States called Impact Schools that give our students preferential admissions and preferential financial aid to broaden the student population, and we support through the transition process, through onboarding, through cohorts for first generation and affinity group cohorts on campus. I've been involved with this for over 10 years. As a first-generation Latina myself, I'm the youngest of 5 children and I was the first person in my family to even consider going to college. I had no idea how to navigate that process and I recall having imposter syndrome, not having anyone that looked like me, no representation. It is the most gratifying and rewarding work. It is completely my why, giving back to my community, being someone that looks like them, that has gone through the same journey, and explaining that it is possible. I've earned several degrees, and I think that takes a lot of resilience and having a testimony to share, and my entire team has a similar journey as well to share. We simplify, break down, reassure, and bring in community groups such as FIEL, which is an organization in Houston that acts as a service to Latinos and offers many services, which includes the financial aid application process. Being bilingual definitely breaks barriers for those who have fear of the unknown, fear of not filing taxes and not wanting to get in trouble, and there are family members who are having citizenship tribulations, and so we support as best we can and take students through that process. What is best for them and for their family? We have a rigorous scholarship application program that we follow. My campus earned over $17 million in scholarships and grants for the class of 2026 with only 188 graduating seniors, and that's something we're so proud of. It's all the glory to God, and it is all God's work. I became a seminar teacher and I just loved it. I love organization and planning, and this is actually a life skill, not just checking off a graduation requirement for a high school degree program. I was asked to be a college counselor, and then I did that for several years, and a director job opened, and I applied, and I got it, to start a brand new program for a growing school, Northline Secondary at Yes Prep. I fell in love with the community. I even moved my own personal home to be closer, because it is just work that I needed to do. I became the lead director just because work is my fun. I research it, I learn about it, even when I'm not working. I'm now leading a district of 20,000 students, and I've had some opportunities that have a national scale. I want to be that Latina that inspires a little young girl in high school that is thinking about what should I do for a career. I could scale my influence. It's a servant leadership mindset.